The Importance of Doing Your OWN Research

There is a guy at work who tells me that I question everything. My response: is that always such a bad thing? I mean, if you take everything at face value you could head down a wrong path, or have something terrible happen, or get taken...and if you've read any of my past blogging about the pool guy, you know how much I hate to be taken.

Well, here is another example of why I question everything.

A few days ago, my eye started itching and it was red. I was complaining to someone on the phone and they said maybe I have pink eye. Well, never having it before, and not knowing what it really looks like, I thought...well, I should probably go see a doctor - I hear you can't get rid of it own it's own, and that it is extremely contagious.

So Thursday morning, I stop by the walk-in doctor's office by work (the one that many of my employees have gone to in the past and not had problems with). First off, I sit for about 60 minutes - there was 1 person in front of me. They said there were two doctors on duty...what were they doing in there with this one person?

They FINALLY call me in, and stick me in a room. I could hear the doctor outside arguing with the nurse about which room was first...mine or the one next to me. The nurse assures her it was mine, so the doctor begrudgingly walks in.

My first clue that the doctor was not up to par was when she asked me the date of my last period. I looked down at my obviously swollen belly and said..."Well, seeing as I'm about 7 months pregnant, would you rather have my due date...it's been awhile since I had my period". The doctor looks at my belly as says, "so you are. What's your due date".

After she looks at my eye and confirms that it is not pink eye, but she is not sure what it is. It looks like I may have scratched it and it was irritated. She told me not to wear my contacts for a few days and to take some eye drops that she was going to prescribe. I then ask her a question that I thought was a bit stupid, but felt I needed to ask anyway. "Are these eye drops safe for pregnant women to take".

The doctor looks at me a bit puzzled. Stops writing, and then says in a most ineloquent way. "uh...well, I guess so. I don't see why not. They are just an antihistamine for allergies. Perplexed I am thinking to myself...but I don't have allergies. I was about to say something when I thought...well, she's the doctor. I am sure she knows best.

I leave the office clearly not feeling very good about the whole eye drop thing, so I call my OBGYN. They had never heard of the prescription, but of course that could have been my fault. I was trying to read the chicken scratch writing of this clearly out of sorts doctor. I then go to the pharmacy for more information. They check their database and said that while they can't tell me the effects that it would have on humans as they do not do testing on pregnant women, they can say that in the animal testing, the animals that were pregnant produced offspring with birth defects and they strongly advise pregnant women against taking this eye drop. The pharmacist then says, but it's up to you.

That was enough information for me. I am the all natural girl anyway. I mean, I didn't even want to go to the doctor, I thought that maybe I had pink eye, not a scratch on my eye. I told the pharmacist that I would pass and thank you for the information. So I have been doomed to wearing my glasses until my eye heals.

Sigh...back to the 1950's librarian comments. :) I have to say I LOVE my contacts, and I am looking forward to putting them on again.